I have a question, from my recent experiences with "social networking" that appears to be dominated by the younger, up-and-coming generation (15-30 years old)...

Why are you so afraid of everything?

I've noticed only about 3% of people under 30 will make public posts to social networking sites and forums.
They are afraid to ask the opposite sex out for a date.
They are afraid to talk face-to-face with others, preferring "texting."
They are afraid to help others out when they have problems (the "me" generation).
They will complain about everything, but seldom DO anything to change their situation.
They are afraid to wait for anything, for fear of losing it before getting it (the "now" generation).

Based on what I've experienced, I cannot see how this generation is going to survive as they appear to be afraid of each other AND the environment in which they live. Once my generation (the 50+) stops taking care of them, what is going to happen?

What you are describing is predominantly has its source in the west, predominantly US, and is filtering all over the globe with the internet. From the way I perceive it, it's a direct consequence of a spurt in egoism in the last half century, which actually comes about in stages.

The first wave of it hit, I think, sometime around the hippie era... with a rise in perception being possible. Instead, due to a subconscious fear of the Other Side, the sex, drugs and rock & roll route was chosen. This was followed by the "politically correct" era... where people started becoming hypersensitive to stating things as they are, and resorted to euphemisms on a daily basis. This was another consequence, because speaking of the spiritual world had to come about in the right way into daily life. We instead got stuck with its caricature, the euphemism, at least at a corporate level.

And now, the euphemism has approached the interpersonal level, so people are naturally afraid of speaking to each other. It is an indication of the times: the Other Side, and the spiritual world is pressing in so strongly that one cannot even carry on an apparently "normal" conversation with another soul without taking that into account, and properly. But people are not able to perceive that consciously, and the fear is still carrying over... now everyone is afraid of doing the wrong thing and saying the wrong thing, all the time, on their toes. Either that, or there is speaking obsessively, just continuously talking to cover up the silence with something. Silence is feared as much as speech: have you noticed the recent surge in people trying to break "awkward silences"?

I have noticed it as well, when speaking to people of the opposite sex, as well as the same, across economic classes. The story is the same, speaking about the "meaning of life" appears unavoidable, as everything surrounding us is screaming for attention in that sense. And that is what is most feared. That penetration of fear into daily life has been made easy by the internet.

Gopi wrote:The first wave of it hit, I think, sometime around the hippie era... with a rise in perception being possible.

Good observation; my generation was on the tail end of the drug-free generations. Drugs just started making their appearance when I was in High School, and they were only used by "weirdos."

And I have noticed that the most significant change in people I've known, and there are quite a few, from before psychoactive drug use to after, is a massive increase in fear. Though they are afraid to admit it! They often say "it's a lot of little things," but from the outside perspective, it's a lot of little fragments of fear. Like the "fear complex" exploded and scattered bits around the psyche, where they take root and start to grow on their own.

Gopi wrote:Instead, due to a subconscious fear of the Other Side, the sex, drugs and rock & roll route was chosen. This was followed by the "politically correct" era... where people started becoming hypersensitive to stating things as they are, and resorted to euphemisms on a daily basis.

I think you are right on the mark. Fear moved outside of its survival role to protect the biological organism and into other complexes, such as the transcendent--making spirituality something feared internally, rather than embraced. Curious turn, given religious leaders try to use fear externally to force people to spirituality in most societies.

Gopi wrote:This was another consequence, because speaking of the spiritual world had to come about in the right way into daily life. We instead got stuck with its caricature, the euphemism, at least at a corporate level.

When internals and externals switch like that, it usually indicates a vMeme shift--in this case, from blue or orange to green. Perhaps we are seeing what happens when a person enters a vMeme when they have not yet become dissatisfied with the one they were previously experiencing. The old values would be immediately attacked by the ones from the new apprehension, engaging a survival response.

I've also noticed that when one of the younger generation gets an answer--to a question they have asked--that contains enough information to actually lead somewhere, the conversation is instantly stopped. "Thanks!" End of thread. However, nonsensical answers continue for pages. Particularly if they are argumentative.

Gopi wrote:It is an indication of the times: the Other Side, and the spiritual world is pressing in so strongly that one cannot even carry on an apparently "normal" conversation with another soul...

I have to wonder which side is actually doing the pressing... if drug use, which is higher than it has ever been in known history, pushes people to the Tier 1/Tier 2 barrier, it may be the material world pressing strongly against the spiritual, which is not giving way.

Gopi wrote:Silence is feared as much as speech: have you noticed the recent surge in people trying to break "awkward silences"?

That would go along with the excessive use of MP3 players. Constant distraction and never any silence.

Gopi wrote:speaking about the "meaning of life" appears unavoidable, as everything surrounding us is screaming for attention in that sense. And that is what is most feared. That penetration of fear into daily life has been made easy by the internet.

I've noticed the same thing, but only with the under-30 generation. The over-50 generation, for the most part, is too fixed in their thoughts. They don't have the fear, but neither do they have the curiosity. Too much vested interest across their lives.

Sagar, I would be very interested in hearing your views on your generation.

I would attribute this insecurity/fear to the competition that exists today. There is more demand for everything as population explodes and with the same amount of supply, there is competition rather than symbiosis in survival. Everyone thinks of his own, and is scared to help anybody else, lest they themselves be deprived of the resources. And on top of this, there is greed for money, fame and power. In such a situation, even standing still is being left far behind. Naturally a fear develops - fear of not being able to fend for oneself; fear of being overtaken; fear of lack of opportunity and so on until, without their knowledge, they are caught in a huge web of fears.

Roosevelt once said: "All we have to fear is fear itself." I believe the secret to conquering fear lies in identifying them and facing them head-on. A little while ago, I was hearing to this audio by Robin Sharma and he said: The three things that we most fear are the three things we must most be doing. So true.

Paduwan Sagar wrote:I would attribute this insecurity/fear to the competition that exists today. There is more demand for everything as population explodes and with the same amount of supply, there is competition rather than symbiosis in survival.

I know the situation in India is different from the United States... there is still abundance here. Competition appears to be artificially generated, what we used to call "Keeping up with the Jones's". There is no lack of tangible items--the stores are always full. So, the competition is created to be "better than your neighbor" by having better toys than they do. The result has been a massive, consumer society that the young generation has been raised with.

There was a "Calvin & Hobbes" strip that played on this... Calvin is yelling at his mom, "MOM!! We need to go to the Mall right now! I just saw on TV a bunch of things I never knew existed, but now I can't live without!"

Paduwan Sagar wrote:And on top of this, there is greed for money, fame and power.

My generation is greedy, but it appeared to arise as a response to social programming. My grandparents had to deal with the Great Depression, where there was true lack of supply. Their children, my parents, were raised by people that had little in the way of worldly possessions, and made it their job to make sure their children, my generation, did not have to starve or do without the necessities. As Jack Benny put it, "I always had shoes." Food, clothing, shelter. When the basic needs are met, then there is time for non-survival related activities, such as research and exploration--and if those aren't engaged in, then you get boredom... competition is exciting, symbiosis is not. Competition is based on power, the ability to control, and control results in greed. So in my generation, "He who dies with the most toys, wins."

What if it isn't fear, but boredom? Do you see that in your generation?

Paduwan Sagar wrote:A little while ago, I was hearing to this audio by Robin Sharma and he said: The three things that we most fear are the three things we must most be doing. So true.

I don't believe that we fear everything, I think we fear life when we are alone as individuals. For example we are more comfortable talking amongst a group rather than alone and this applies to many other situations.

I would say that one of the reasons for this behavior is the lack of individuality, my generation was raised through a industrial school system which aims to produce workers rather than people.

I'm going to revisit this thread because of something that happened this morning, on the way back from my workout. I was going through the walkway from the back to the front of the local mall, and some young guy came running around the corner, flying by me at a dead run, dodging everyone in his path and almost knocking people over. I was about to yell an expletive at him when another guy came around the corner yelling "STOP HIM!" Apparently, he had stolen something from a store. The poor guy chasing him could not keep up (overweight versus skinny kid) and I was about to take off after him as I was still pretty pumped from my workout, but as I turned, a policeman came into view at the other end of the walkway where the guy exited with his weapon drawn and ready to fire.

OK, not a good idea to go running, as the officer won't know who is who. Better to just get everyone here out of the way, so he has a clear line of fire if he needs to shoot. There were a couple of ladies there when the guy came by, but they made a hasty retreat in the opposite direction, so I was the only one there. Got myself out of the way and found that there was also a woman that the officer was chasing. She got into a car, parked right at the end of the walkway. The officer came up to her, gun pointed at her head, yelling to get out of the car. Then he yelled "don't start this car!" and she started it--apparently knowing that the officer would not fire on her. I watched her turn the car wheel to the left and pull out, trying to crush the officer between her car and the one next to her, but he just moved out of the way, chasing the car (it was backed in, so just went straight out). My view was blocked by some storage crates but I heard the sound of a taser, then the officer ran back to his car, got in and went in pursuit. I'm sure he's got the license plate, as police now carry body cameras.

The young generation has NO RESPECT for either the laws or public safety. And they have learned that they can, for the most part, get away with anything. The prolific abundance of drugs, for example--illegal, but thousands, if not millions, of guys on YouTube confessing to both possession and distribution felonies. Yet the law does nothing. I've seen this before, back in the 1980s, as I have worked with police, sheriffs, firemen, paramedics, DEA, FBI and other law enforcement agencies--and watched how the government literally "tied their hands" to PREVENT them from enforcing the law. This has been going on for 30 years now, slowly and surely, to get us to this point--but why?

I'll tell you this, it is not about the law enforcement agencies "getting more customers" and filling the jails. Though that may be "big business" for some, there is something darker going on here. This is a massive, MIND CONTROL system, creating a dissociative identity disorder in the upcoming generation--and the upcoming generation has bought into it, "hook, line and sinker--and subscription to 'Angling Times'."

The Hook, Line and Sinker are the three essential pieces of fishing tackle in angling. In the English language, the phrase 'to swallow something "hook, line and sinker" ' is an idiomatic expression used to describe a situation where a person or group accepts wholesale and uncritically an idea or set of beliefs. ("Angling" is fishing; "Angling Times" is a magazine about fishing.)

Law forms the basis of social interaction. Unfortunately, most laws these days have been perverted into "corporate law," where the law exists to protect the rich and powerful (individuals and corporations). And law extends far beyond the police. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." Now the rich have created a generation of zombies... it is like we are living The Omega Man.

I don't believe that we fear everything, I think we fear life when we are alone as individuals. For example we are more comfortable talking amongst a group rather than alone and this applies to many other situations.

In my generation, there is a saying, nunquam minus solus quam cum solus, which means "never less alone than when alone." Personally, I enjoy solitude--it gives my mind the opportunity to explore new thoughts and ideas, and to process and store things that I have learned. But then again... we weren't part of the "Internet of things." If you wanted to know something, you read books and remembered it. Could not just pin a tweet.

Also from my time, is a very apt description of the upcoming generation, "the lights are on, but there is nobody home." This is where your fear of being alone comes from. When you become disconnected from the social collective (personal or Internet), there is no thought stimulus "internally." Everything becomes empty and the darkness starts to close in around you, and then the fear starts.

Sol, what was the last book you read--by choice, not being told to? And I am talking about a real, paper book--not a PDF.

I would say that one of the reasons for this behavior is the lack of individuality, my generation was raised through a industrial school system which aims to produce workers rather than people.

Well, somebody has to clean the homes and cook the food of the NWO.

My generation did not rely on teachers to tell you what you should know. The teachers were there to assist and guide your learning--not to provide it. Gopi has shown me some recent, student textbooks--an atrocity, IMHO! No thought required to pass the class.

The lack of individuality comes from the lack of knowledge about the world around you--your "self" has no idea of what possibilities are available, except those you are forced into. If you ever want to be an individual, you need to learn HOW to think for yourself--and not rely on others to think for you.

it is not about the law enforcement agencies "getting more customers" and filling the jails. Though that may be "big business" for some, there is something darker going on here. This is a massive, MIND CONTROL system, creating a dissociative identity disorder in the upcoming generation--and the upcoming generation has bought into it, "hook, line and sinker--and subscription to 'Angling Times'."

And they are in a hurry to live their one and only life the fullest and how they want to live it, "HashtagYOLO" and so on. I wonder what they are going to be when they grow up, if they ever grow up that is. Perhaps they get depressed and off themselves, well some would do that for sure. I think majority would be in that area of anti-depressant eating dumbed down people.

Watched this video yesterday and now got reminded about it. This is also mind control through chemicals and to put this choice out there that is now trending even more. More and more people get to not be their represented sex, but something else. Not saying that one shouldn't be themselves, but the manipulation of hormones in early stages of child being a mere baby (pacifiers and baby bottles had [maybe still have?] chemicals which mimic estrogen female hormone). That thing makes more transpeople and gays in the world if anything. I most likely was exposed to those chemicals being born in the 80s so most likely the case here.

The young generation has NO RESPECT for either the laws or public safety. And they have learned that they can, for the most part, get away with anything. The prolific abundance of drugs, for example--illegal, but thousands, if not millions, of guys on YouTube confessing to both possession and distribution felonies. Yet the law does nothing. I've seen this before, back in the 1980s, as I have worked with police, sheriffs, firemen, paramedics, DEA, FBI and other law enforcement agencies--and watched how the government literally "tied their hands" to PREVENT them from enforcing the law. This has been going on for 30 years now, slowly and surely, to get us to this point--but why?

Aside from widespread digital piracy, I rarely see such blatant disregard for the laws that can be ascribed to my whole generation. Granted I go to a distance learning institution so I don't go out much.
I've always seen bad behaviour of my generation as just simple irresponsibility, something that everyone will eventually grow out of once they become self reliant and live through more experiences.

Sol, what was the last book you read--by choice, not being told to? And I am talking about a real, paper book--not a PDF.

The last paper book I read by choice was an Encyclopaedia Britannica ( from a set of 15th ED's that we received from our neighbours ), but I"ll admit that was +2 years ago and the only reason I even picked it up was because I didn't have any internet access at the time.
If your asking when was the last time I read a paper book completely, then I would say never. Not once have I read a non-school paper book cover to cover, digital media is just far too convenient and easy to access, not to mention the huge range of content.

The lack of individuality comes from the lack of knowledge about the world around you--your "self" has no idea of what possibilities are available, except those you are forced into. If you ever want to be an individual, you need to learn HOW to think for yourself--and not rely on others to think for you.

I presume by learning how to think your referring mostly to logic and reasoning. Since I'm currently going through a undergrad Computer Science course, I'll be learning more formal logic in addition to what I already know during the course of my study.

And they are in a hurry to live their one and only life the fullest and how they want to live it, "HashtagYOLO" and so on. I wonder what they are going to be when they grow up, if they ever grow up that is. Perhaps they get depressed and off themselves, well some would do that for sure. I think majority would be in that area of anti-depressant eating dumbed down people.

Again I see the YOLO mentality as just an extreme manifestation of the short-sightedness of youth. When I was still in high school it seemed normal that someone drank alcohol or took drugs, everyone considered it a "phase" that eventually passes and once they grow out of it they'll become more reasonable and responsible.

Aside from widespread digital piracy, I rarely see such blatant disregard for the laws that can be ascribed to my whole generation.

The mainstream media profit-grabbing brought digital piracy into existence--and personally, I'm all for piracy. A true artist is concerned about the message their work delivers, not how much dough they are going to get from it. I use a lot of "freeware," but if I like the program I'll hit that "donate" button because the folks that put it out free ARE the true artists, and they do have to eat. It is like the Reciprocal System website--that could easily be a paywall, but it is kept free because those involved feel the message is more important than the money it would produce. (And hey... in the last year, they actually got $1 in donations to support the site!!)

It is nice to know that this disregard for law is not everywhere (I see you're in South Africa), but in the States, Europe and Japan it is out of control. Have you seen what the young people have done to Mount Fuji, one of the most sacred places in Japan? Disturbing.

I've always seen bad behaviour of my generation as just simple irresponsibility, something that everyone will eventually grow out of once they become self reliant and live through more experiences.

As the "American democracy" takes over each country, you'll see it happen there, too. And they are... China is now grabbing the manufacturing and the US is vying for political control. To paraphrase the Borg, "you too will be assimilated." Heck, even India now has Wal-marts!

Not once have I read a non-school paper book cover to cover, digital media is just far too convenient and easy to access, not to mention the huge range of content.

That is surprising. In my younger days, books were prized in far-away lands because they just could not get that kind of information. But with Internet... I don't know. Heck, I still print PDFs to read them. That way I can highlight and scribble notes in the margins. Yes, I know PDF readers will do that, but there is just something different about an old book sitting on a shelf, that has been annotated by some past author with his unique thoughts. I've never seen online "notes" shared. Heck, people hardly share anything even on fora like this, whose purpose IS to share knowledge and information.

I would be curious if you were to print out a small book and read the paper, cover-to-cover, and relate "how it felt" versus reading online. They are distinctly different "feels" to me.

I presume by learning how to think your referring mostly to logic and reasoning. Since I'm currently going through a undergrad Computer Science course, I'll be learning more formal logic in addition to what I already know during the course of my study.

So, if all elephants are gray, and all buses are gray, then all elephants are buses, right?

If you get taught "formal" logic, using concepts like Venn diagrams, consider yourself fortunate. In the above statement, most people will recognize that "elephants are not buses"--but cannot tell you the logical reason why.

When I was still in high school it seemed normal that someone drank alcohol or took drugs, everyone considered it a "phase" that eventually passes and once they grow out of it they'll become more reasonable and responsible.

When I was in High School, it was illegal to drink (outside of your home)--had to be 21--and there were NO DRUGS, at all. They started in the late 1970s and were in full swing 10 years later, after Montauk (Stewart Swerdlow's research) proved how effective "recreational drugs" were as a mind control substance.

Over the course of my life, I have also noticed that with each generation increasing drug use, they are also decreasing their "individuality," to where now they are nothing but oversocialized, corporate drones. They will vehemently claim they are not--as the recruit and assimilate all their compatriots into the system like good little worker bees.

"We are the Youth. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."

Aside from widespread digital piracy, I rarely see such blatant disregard for the laws that can be ascribed to my whole generation.

The mainstream media profit-grabbing brought digital piracy into existence--and personally, I'm all for piracy. A true artist is concerned about the message their work delivers, not how much dough they are going to get from it. I use a lot of "freeware," but if I like the program I'll hit that "donate" button because the folks that put it out free ARE the true artists, and they do have to eat. It is like the Reciprocal System website--that could easily be a paywall, but it is kept free because those involved feel the message is more important than the money it would produce. (And hey... in the last year, they actually got $1 in donations to support the site!!)

The mainstream media touts digital piracy as what prevents creators/artists from eating but I wouldn't be surprised if the story that they promote is backwards .On that note I thought that "freeware" and related goods where simply bait to get more people into the "Net" since it seemed far too easy to get obtain of them through P2P sharing and file hosting sites.

It is nice to know that this disregard for law is not everywhere (I see you're in South Africa), but in the States, Europe and Japan it is out of control. Have you seen what the young people have done to Mount Fuji, one of the most sacred places in Japan? Disturbing.

I wont go as far as to say that there's a complete respect for the rule of law ( there are frequent stories on the news about people looting, illegal occupation of land, political scandals and the like ) but it always seemed to be localised to specific areas ( townships ) or groups ( politicians ).
I read up on the environmental issues of Mt Fuji and some of the stories and images are quite shocking to say the least. I thought that Eastern countries had all garbage disposal issues well under control, I've read several articles praising Japanese cities as clean and well taken care of so I wouldn't expect that they would have such issues, or it may very well be that they regard the cities in which they stay in as more important and sacred.

As the "American democracy" takes over each country, you'll see it happen there, too. And they are... China is now grabbing the manufacturing and the US is vying for political control. To paraphrase the Borg, "you too will be assimilated." Heck, even India now has Wal-marts!

That seems to be happening here as well. I knew from a few years back that Walmart owns one of the large retail companies called Game, but when I searched Wikipedia I found out that Walmart through its subsidiary Massmart owns several other large retail companies, even companies that should be competing against each other

I would be curious if you were to print out a small book and read the paper, cover-to-cover, and relate "how it felt" versus reading online. They are distinctly different "feels" to me.

A few days ago I did attempt to complete one of my assignments by using encyclopaedias ( it was based on the philosophy of science so it was mostly old knowledge ) and I remember feeling "scholarly" and it was slightly easier to concentrate ( probably due to the absence of the strain caused by LED screens ). I'll try out your suggestion about printing out a small book and see how it's like.

So, if all elephants are gray, and all buses are gray, then all elephants are buses, right?

If you get taught "formal" logic, using concepts like Venn diagrams, consider yourself fortunate. In the above statement, most people will recognize that "elephants are not buses"--but cannot tell you the logical reason why.

Before I learnt set theory it was difficult for me as well to explain how all elephants are not buses . Back when I was younger I assumed that by learning mathematics I would eventually come to understand the basics of logic, but that never seemed to work out. My thought process always seemed to go like this : If all elephants are grey (grey = elephants) and all buses are grey (grey = buses), then all elephants are buses (elephants = buses). I'm grateful that I've moved beyond such misunderstandings.

When I was still in high school it seemed normal that someone drank alcohol or took drugs, everyone considered it a "phase" that eventually passes and once they grow out of it they'll become more reasonable and responsible.

When I was in High School, it was illegal to drink (outside of your home)--had to be 21--and there were NO DRUGS, at all. They started in the late 1970s and were in full swing 10 years later, after Montauk (Stewart Swerdlow's research) proved how effective "recreational drugs" were as a mind control substance.

It's difficult for me to to picture a world without drugs since it's a prominent component of "youth culture", whereby smoking and drinking as a group are recreational activities. It's surprising how much things can change in 50 years.

Over the course of my life, I have also noticed that with each generation increasing drug use, they are also decreasing their "individuality," to where now they are nothing but oversocialized, corporate drones. They will vehemently claim they are not--as the recruit and assimilate all their compatriots into the system like good little worker bees.

"We are the Youth. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."

Hey, that may be funny to you but it isn't to those of us who have to live with the Youth Collective